The following information is presented solely to assist the understanding of the reader, and none of the information is admitted to describe or constitute prior art to the claims of the present invention.
A requisite for the maintenance of fluids is that they be sealed within a container sufficient to prevent them from breaking down, evaporating, or drying out. A requisite for a disposable container is that it be simple and economical to manufacture and easy to use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,008, issued Jul. 8, 1986, for a "Fingernail Polish Capsule and Plunger," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any drawings, there is a described sealed unit in the form of a cartridge containing nail polish, a slideable brush attachment, a piston, and a plunger. It is to be used in a reusable hand-piece. When the cartridge is placed into the hand-piece, the brush attachment slides axially to automatically force open a panel at one end of the cartridge, that end being closed by a separately formed plug which has a sealed fit in the cartridge. Next, a plunger is utilized to displace a removable panel at the opposite end of the cartridge. That removable panel sits on a piston and is moved into the cartridge by further movement on the plunger which also moves the piston, thereby forcing the liquid nail polish into the brush attachment.
As noted therein, nail polish is customarily sold in bottles with the closure cap having an attached brush which is used to apply the polish. Such bottles contain more polish than is required for a single application so that after used the bottle must be reclosed and stored. Various techniques have been adapted to store such containers, including placing them in refrigerators. It is remarked that there has, however, been no satisfactory and convenient solution to solvent loss. In fact, it is stated, there is a solvent loss in the customary nail polish bottle arrangement during storage. While the invention of the '008 patent is said to solve that solvent loss problem, it has been discovered that various aspects of the device disclosed therein make its use as a disposable application unit inconvenient and expensive. First, the device is complicated from a standpoint of manufacture, containing a number of intricate parts. Additionally, the '008 device must be used with a plunger-containing handpiece.
A self-contained disposable, fluid storing applicator device which is easy to manufacture and use and which need not be used with a handpiece is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,760 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any drawings. Optionally, a mechanical dispenser device may be relied on by the user to expel to contents of the container. The container may be used to store and apply or otherwise expel a variety of materials, such as paint, nail polish, and medicaments, including smelling salts and topical pharmaceuticals like iodine.
Nonetheless, there remains a need for additional and improved devices for dispensing fluids.